The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea arborescens and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘GRHYAR1406’. ‘GRHYAR1406’ represents a new smooth hydrangea, a perennial shrub grown for landscape use.
‘GRHYAR1406’ derived from an ongoing breeding program by the Inventor in Valkenburg, The Netherlands. ‘GRHYAR1406’ arose as a controlled cross between an unnamed proprietary plant of Hydrangea arborescens from the Inventor's breeding program and Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ (not patented) as the male parent in 2011. ‘GRHYAR1406’ was selected a single unique plant from amongst the resulting seedlings in summer of 2014.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by stem cuttings by the Inventor in summer of 2014 in Valkenburg, The Netherlands. Asexual propagation by stem cuttings has determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.